


Arthur Pendragon Presents: How (not) to Tell a Boy You Like Him

by showmeyourtardis



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Cutesy, Fluff, Funny, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-07
Updated: 2014-03-10
Packaged: 2018-01-14 22:38:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1281367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/showmeyourtardis/pseuds/showmeyourtardis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur decides enough is enough and confronts his feelings. Also known as, that time Arthur asked his friends how to win over his manservant (and got some terrible advice.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Arthur Pendragon Presents: How (not) to Tell a Boy You Like Him
> 
> Auther: Show-me-your-tardis

Merlin smirked and rolled the dice onto the table. Two sixes. The crowd around them cheered and laughed as Arthur sighed.

“Your turn, Sire.” Merlin mocked.

Arthur scooped up the dice and threw them unceremoniously into his wooden cup. Drunk with pride and, well, alcohol, he pushed all his remaining gold coins into the pile at the end of the table. Merlin raised one eyebrow, clearly unimpressed and chucked his remaining two coins into the pile. It was all in, next round wins it. Arthur picked up the cup, and without looking away from Merlin's eyes, he shook it as obnoxiously as possible. Merlin sighed and stifled a yawn. Arthur threw the dice out of the cup and...

A one and a three.

The crowd laughed, Merlin smirked and Arthur sighed. He wouldn't give up though, this wasn't over, Merlin could still get less than four. Merlin scooped up the dice and dropped them into his cup one at a time. Arthur smiled, trying to look as uninterested as possible, it didn't work. Merlin didn't take his eyes off Arthur. That is, until he conveniently looked away and whispered the spell. He felt the magic power down his arm and into the cup.

For good measure, he gave the cup another few shakes, looked into Arthur's eyes and threw the dice...

Two sixes again.

The crowd shouted and cheered. Merlin, his smile wider than ever before, picked up the pile of gold coins and dropped them into his pockets, immediately feeling them weigh down his pants.

“Good game.” Arthur said, winking at Merlin.

“For me.” Merlin muttered.

Slowly the crowd started to go back to their tables; leaving Merlin, Arthur and Gwaine left behind.

“Another round? Winner buys.” Gwaine asked, his voice slightly slurred from the mead.

“Actually, I'm going now. Before Arthur tries to win his money back and loses even more.” Merlin teased.

Arthur shrugged, he had plenty more where that came from.

“Don't be such a girl, Merlin. Have another drink.” Arthur said as Merlin stood to go.

“I have to clean your armour before you wake tomorrow, remember?” Merlin said. After a thought he added, “Unless I can have the day off?”

“No.” Arthur said.

“Night then. I trust you can get yourself to your chambers?” Merlin asked.

Arthur hummed in response, Merlin turned and, stumbling slightly, left the tavern.

“When will you tell him?” Gwaine muttered.

“What?” Arthur asked, turning away from the door Merlin had just left through.

“A blind man could see your love for him, Arthur.” Gwaine said.

Arthur didn't respond, he just picked up his drink and laughed in disbelief. Of course he didn't love Merlin, Gwaine was just drunk. He turned back to Gwaine, intended to tell him all of this, but he was busy whispering sweet nothings into the barmaid's ear. Arthur rolled his eyes and ordered two more jugs of mead. The barman brought them over, and after one jealous look at Gwaine and the barmaid, he left.

“Do you need help?” Gwaine whispered back to Arthur, finally pulling his lips away from the maid's.

“Need help? With what?” Arthur asked, his mind was becoming fuzzy and the room was spinning.

“With Merlin, you idiot.” The maid, by now, had gotten up and left from the lack of attention she was getting.

“I don't...” Arthur trailed off at the _stop-pretending_ look on Gwaine's face, “Fine. What do you suggest?”

“An old classic.” Gwaine paused for effect, “Tell him his eyes are the colour of moonlight reflected on the sea after a storm.”

Arthur stared at Gwaine for a few seconds before saying, “What? Wha- What does that even mean? What colour is that?”

Gwaine wrapped an arm around Arthur's shoulders and whispered conspiratorially, “That's the point. It is no one colour. You can use it on anyone, with any eye colour. It'll work.”

“Is it not a bit... Girly?” Arthur whispered.

Gwaine looked slightly offended for a second, before saying, “Fine. Carry on calling him a girl, see how that works out.”

With that, Gwaine stood and walked over to three girls sat in a corner. They all looked at him unimpressed, until he turned to the blond next to him and whispered, “Your eyes are the colour of moonlight reflected on the sea after a storm.”

The blush in her cheeks was visible to Arthur across the tavern. Maybe it wasn't such a stupid idea.

 

**Gwaine's Advice**

 

“Your eyes are the colour of moon on the- no that's not right.” Arthur recited the words in his head, staring unseeingly at the blank parchment in front of him.

“Your eyes are the colour of moonlight reflected on the sea after a storm.” Arthur could hear his voice in his head.

He took a deep breath and dug the heel of his palms into his eyes. The morning sun was too bright for his tired eyes. He had a hangover to rival all hangovers and he had never been more scared to talk to Merlin. Merlin was sat at the table, busy scrubbing at the mud on Arthur's boots, occasionally dropping the brush clumsily to the floor, making Arthur flinch.

It was after the fifth time he'd done this, Merlin finally asked, “Are you okay, Arthur?”

Arthur looked up, his blond hair flopping on his forehead, “What?” He asked rather loudly.

“Are you okay? You seem... Distracted.”

This was it, this was the time. Arthur took a deep, calming breath.

“Your eyes are...” His unusually hoarse voice trailed off. The second he had croaked out the word _eyes,_ Merlin got a very confused – and slightly amused – look on his face.

Arthur cleared his throat, Merlin was still staring at him and it was making Arthur nervous. He wondered whether Merlin could see his heart beating, whether he could see him going red. He was already in now though, the words were trying to push their way out of his mouth.

“Youreyesarethecolourofmoonlightontheseaafterastorm” It all came out at once, like vomit. 

Arthur instantly regretted it. He wanted to reach out, grab the words and stuff them back into his mouth, but he couldn't. He knew Merlin had definitely heard – although, judging by his face he hadn't understood – leaving an uncomfortable silence in the room. So they sat there for what seemed like hours to Arthur, but was, in fact, only a few seconds, in a very awkward silence.

Until Arthur decided to deal with the situation the way he dealt with most things.

To walk away.

He stood up, marched towards the door and didn't look back until he was out of the castle.

Leaving Merlin sitting alone in Arthur's chambers, wondering what colour, exactly, moonlight on the sea after a storm was.

 

**Percival's Advice**

 

After pausing outside the castle, trying to shake off the embarrassment of his failed flirting, Arthur rushed over to the field - straight to Gwaine. He was stood with Percival, watching Lancelot and Elyan training. Arthur reached out, grabbed Gwaine's shoulder and spun him around.

“Your advice was terrible.” Arthur fumed.

Gwaine shrugged out of Arthur's grasp and laughed, “You must have said it wrong.”

“I didn't say it wrong. It's a stupid line.” Arthur said, shifting from foot-to-foot.

“What happened?” Percival asked.

Lancelot swung his sword forcefully, but Elyan raised his sword in defense. Both swords met with a clang.

“I told Arthur, to tell Merlin his eyes were the colour of moonlight on the sea after a storm.” Gwaine explained.

Percival burst into a fit of laughter then, Arthur felt his cheeks go red. Gwaine, however, looked offended.

“What?” He asked, folding his arms grumpily. 

“That's the worst line I've ever heard!” Percival laughed, clutching his stomach.

“It works.” Gwaine said.

“Of course it works on the brainless type you go for! It's not going to work on Merlin!” Percival wiped a tear from his eye, his laughter finally coming to a halt.

“Oh if you're so great, what do you suggest?”

“Simple.” Percival said, he raised his arm and flexed his muscles, “Impress him.”

“Impress him?” Arthur and Gwaine repeated together.

“Now's your chance.” Percival shoved Arthur towards Elyan and Lancelot, who were still fighting.

Arthur bumped into Elyan, distracting him and Lancelot. They both turned to look at him, but Arthur was busy looking at Merlin, making his way across the field with Arthur's sword in his hands. Arthur gulped, but put on a brave face. He walked over to Merlin and accepted his sword with a mumbled thanks. He turned back to Lancelot and Elyan.

“Let's try a...” Arthur cleared his throat, sounding more like a pre-teen girl than the manly king he was, “Let's try a two on one situation, Elyan and Lancelot I want you to attack me.”

Merlin raised his eyebrows and Gwaine smirked.

Arthur raised his sword, “No holding back.”

Arthur turned to wink at Merlin, but he didn't get chance because right then, Elyan and Lancelot charged forward. Both their shoulders smacked Arthur to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. Merlin took a step forward to help Arthur up, but Percival caught him and held him back. Arthur clambered to his feet, slightly dazed, he shot a winning smile at Merlin and raised his sword. But his mind was too clouded with thoughts of Merlin, so when both Lancelot and Elyan charged at him again, he wasn't prepared.

And when Gwaine and Percival decided to join in bullying the King, Arthur fell to the floor and realised maybe impressing Merlin wasn't the way to his heart...

 


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur rubbed at the lump on the back of his head.

“When I said impress him, I assumed you could take two knights on.” Percival mocked.

“Shut up.” Arthur muttered.

“What's going on?” Lancelot asked.

Him, Elyan, and Leon walked across the courtyard to Percival, Gwaine, and Arthur. Arthur sighed. 

 _Great, bring more people into my humiliation,_ thought Arthur.

“Arthur's trying to impress Merlin.” Gwaine explained.

“Badly.” Percival added, encouraging a round of laughter from Gwaine.

“Shut up.” Arthur repeated.

“It doesn't seem that hard.” Leon looked over at the boy who was busy trying to get Arthur's horse to halt.

“What's your advice then?” Arthur asked.

Lancelot looked over at Merlin too, before saying, “Cook him a meal.”

“Girl.” Gwaine muttered.

“It's how you get a _respectable_ girl, Gwaine.” Lancelot snapped.

“You could just make him laugh, that works for me.” Elyan interjected, stopping Gwaine from insulting Lancelot.

“Make him laugh? How?” Arthur asked.

“You could try fighting two-on-one again.” Percival muttered.

Another round of sniggering spread through the knights.

 

 

**Elyan's Advice**

 

Merlin poked at the dying campfire and, after a quick check to see if anyone was looking, he whispered the spell and brought it back to life.

“Fire's done.” He called out to the knights.

They were busy sat near a tree whispering about something. They had been like this since they left Camelot, Merlin started to think they were talking about him. A couple of times he had interrupted them, and they had ceased talking altogether. Maybe they knew Merlin had magic... Merlin felt his heart speed up a bit as Arthur looked over at him, Merlin smiled but Arthur looked away quickly.

He definitely knew. Merlin shook himself and walked over to them. As expected, they immediately stopped talking. All of them turned to look at him with wide-eyes. 

“Er... I was just going down to the river. Does anyone need any wat-” Before Merlin could finish, five water skins were offered to him, “Thanks...”

He collected them up, very aware everyone's eyes were still on him.

Once he arrived at the river, he contemplated running away. There was a very real chance Arthur had called this patrol to punish Merlin away from Camelot. Merlin could just walk through the forest until he found a new town... But he couldn't leave Arthur, even if Arthur now hated him for his magic. While Merlin was filling up the second water skin, he heard footsteps behind him. He sat up, straining his ears to hear anymore sound. He felt like a deer being hunted.

“Merlin?”

“I can explain!” Merlin shouted abruptly, dropping five water skins into the river.

Arthur quickly ran over and fished them out before the flow took them away.

“Explain what?” He asked, dropping the skins onto the grass next to Merlin.

Merlin didn't say anything, he just crossed his legs and looked down at the floor. Arthur sat opposite him, crossing his own legs.

Merlin smiled a little, it was weird to see Arthur sat like that. He looked like an overgrown child.

“Need help?” Arthur asked. 

Merlin was a taken aback. Even more so when Arthur reached out and began filling up one of the water skins.

“Are you okay, Arthur?”

“Yes. Why?” Arthur asked, careful to avoid Merlin's eyes.

“You've been acting weird. If it's something I've done-” Merlin was cut off.

“Want to hear a joke?”

Merlin laughed then, “Do I want to what?”

“Hear a joke. Gwaine just told me a good one.”

“Sure..” Merlin inspected Arthur closely, he was certainly acting strange.

Arthur opened his mouth but closed it again without making a sound. He took a deep breath and Merlin watched his chest rise and fall.

“So a horse walks into...” Arthur trailed off and sighed.

“Are you sure you're okay?” Merlin asked.

Arthur stood up abruptly and knocked a few of the water skins into the river again.

“For goodness sakes!” Arthur complained.

He got down on his knees and leaned over the river bank. Arthur reached his arm into the icy water, but he leaned too far.

He saw the water tip up towards him and the next thing he knew he was being crushed by icy water. It was suffocating him and it was hard to tell which way was up. The water was in his mouth and he couldn't see anything. If he died now, he would kill Merlin for this! Distantly he could hear Merlin shouting his name. He followed the sound, pushing and kicking his legs against the flow.

Finally he broke the surface, gasping for air, his feet finding their grip on the rocky bottom. Merlin reached out and helped him climb back over the bank.

It was as Arthur was lay on his back, still gasping for oxygen and shivering, he heard Merlin snicker. He turned his head to the left a little, where he saw Merlin stood over him looking amused and guilty all at the same time.

“It's... Not... Funny.” Arthur warned through his gasps.

That made Merlin giggle harder now. He began to laugh so hard he ended up lay next to Arthur clutching at his stomach. His laugh was so contagious Arthur couldn't help but laugh too. They both lay there, Arthur dripping icy water, howling with laughter.

Elyan's advice hadn't been so terrible after all.

 

 

**Lancelot's Advice**

 

Arthur heard a knock on his door.

“Enter.” He called.

He quickly lit the tall candle in the middle of the table. He heard the door scrape open and the sound of Merlin's footsteps behind him.

“You asked for me?” Merlin asked, he seemed a little scared.

Arthur longed to reach out and pull him into a hug, but the thought of being so obvious made him want to hide away in a cave for the next year. So instead he pulled out a chair and offered it to Merlin.

Merlin gulped and took a seat.

“How are you feeling?” Merlin asked.

“I think I've got the flu...” Arthur smiled, taking the seat opposite Merlin.

Merlin looked suspicious then. He looked at the candle, at the dome on the table and at the nervous look on Arthur's face.

“What is this?” He asked.

“It's dinner, Merlin. Are you that much of an idiot?” Arthur smiled.

He lifted the wooden dome away from the plate, revealing two bowls of stew. He passed one over to Merlin and pulled one to himself. He lifted his spoon but didn't put any stew into his mouth, instead he watched Merlin eat.

Merlin scooped up a second spoonful but before the spoon met his mouth, he looked over at Arthur. Arthur, who was staring at him with a really weird look on his face. Merlin dropped the spoon with a clang.

“It's rat, isn't it.” It wasn't really a question, more like Merlin was confirming it to himself.

“No!” Arthur exclaimed.

“How come you're not eating then?” Merlin asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I'm just not hungry... Merlin, it's not rat.”

“I can't believe you did this!” Merlin exclaimed.

He pushed his bowl away from him in disgust and stood up. He wiped his tongue on his sleeve and marched out of Arthur's chambers.

“It's not rat...” Arthur whispered into the empty room.

Exasperated, he blew out the candle on the table, plunging the room into darkness. He pushed his own bowl away from him and lowered his face to the table. Trying to impress Merlin was harder than Arthur thought it would be.

 


	3. Chapter 3

“You have to help me.” Arthur begged, the next day, as he ran to keep up with Gwen.

She was carrying a basket of washing towards the kitchens. She still had left over flour on her dress from her baking this morning. 

“Arthur, I'm a little busy.” 

“Please Guinevere!” Arthur begged, he reached out and pulled on her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

“You want some advice?” She asked, shaking Arthur off her.

“Yes!” He cried.

“You're going about this the wrong way. You're asking a bunch of idiot knights how to get girls, when you should be asking a girl.” With that, Gwen carried on walking down the corridor.

Arthur caught up to her again, “Asking a girl what?”

“What she'd like a boy to do for her, or what she'd do for a boy. I mean Merlin isn't a girl, obviously, but the knights know nothing of romance." 

“Oh... Where can I find a girl, then?” Arthur asked.

Gwen sighed and marched on.

“Gwen! I'm joking, I'm joking. Please help me. What would you like a boy to do?”

Gwen got a distant smile on her face, as though remembering a happy memory from long ago, “I'd like him to take me on a date... And buy me flowers... And-” 

“THANKS GWEN!” Arthur shouted from down the corridor as he ran off after Merlin.

Gwen rolled her eyes and carried on down the corridor.

_Boys_ she thought,  _they're all idiots._

 

 

**Gwen's Advice**

“I'm bored.” Merlin complained for the third time.

“If you say that one more time, I will hunt _you._ ” Arthur replied, for the second time.

This date wasn't exactly going as planned. When they'd left Camelot, the weather had been fair and perfect for hunting. Arthur had even gotten Merlin flowers... That is until a bee had flown out of one and the two of them had screamed like little girls. Now the rain had started and was soaking through their clothes. It was the kind of rain that wasn't heavy, but instead created a sort of mist. The two of them could only see a few feet in front of them, leaving their chances of finding anything to hunt very low, and their morale even lower.

“It's cold and wet and we can't see anything. Can we just go home?” Merlin asked.

“No. Don't be such a girl, Merlin.”

“Prat.”

“Idiot.”

“Clotpole.”

“Stop making up words.”

“Stop being such a clotpole then.” Merlin countered. 

Arthur felt the corner of his lips curl up, but he forced a sigh anyway, “Shut up Merlin.”

But Merlin could hear the smile on his lips. Arthur released the reins of his horse and blew warm air into his icy hands. He glanced back at Merlin, whose hair was plastered to his forehead and looked icy cold.

“Keep up Merlin.”

“Arthur... What's that?” Merlin's voice had changed, it was no longer light and playful, it was now full of worry.

The change in Merlin's voice brought Arthur to a halt, “What?”

Merlin gestured to the left of them, through the mist they could see a lump leaning against a fallen tree. Arthur squinted and tried to see what the lump was, from here it looked like a body.

“Stay here.” Arthur told Merlin as he jumped from his horse.

But he wasn't at all surprised when he heard Merlin's feet hit the ground too. Instead, he slowed and allowed Merlin to catch up before they wandered over to the lump. The rain was coming down heavier now, and it was accompanied by a slight wind, causing the rain to come down at a slant.

Before they reached the mystery shape, they heard their horses whinny and the sound of galloping hooves.

“NO!” Merlin shouted, as both of them ran back, only to see their horses galloping away.

“My sword was on the horse...” Arthur whispered.

It didn't take a genius to figure out something wasn't quite right here. They both glanced wearily back at the supposed body on the log, Arthur ran over to it and pulled the blanket away from it. Only to reveal some conveniently placed rocks. He silently cursed his own stupidity, and didn't need to look up to know bandits were emerging from the forest.

Out of instinct, Arthur took a few steps back to shield Merlin from view. Merlin peeked over Arthur's shoulders and saw more bandits than he'd ever seen in one place. Merlin counted quickly, but more just kept emerging, baring their ugly teeth.

Ten, Twenty, Thirty, Merlin lost count.

“What do we have here then? It's only the King of Camelot, ain't it?” One of the bandits shouted.

Arthur knew only two things for sure:

One) He didn't have his sword with him and

Two) Even with his sword he wouldn't be able to kill thirty plus bandits without Merlin getting injured.

So he did the only thing he could do to protect Merlin. He grabbed his hand and yelled, “RUN!”

And run they did.

Arthur weaved expertly through the trees, with Merlin trailing behind. The rain pelted into Arthur but he didn't slow down. They were fast, but the bandits were faster, they were catching up. In his head, Arthur's strategic planning was kicking in, _we can't fight, we can't run, all that's left is to hide._ Arthur silently calculated where he was and where they could possibly hide. He looked around as he ran, the only thing keeping him calm was Merlin's hand in his, he held tight.

Arthur veered to the right, Merlin stumbled slightly but overall managed to keep upright, Arthur would have to congratulate him later on. Finally, he spotted his destination, the part where the earth fell away, resulting in two cliffs and a deep valley between them.

It was as though Merlin could read Arthur's thoughts, “No Arthur. No, it's too dangerous!”

But Arthur didn't hear him over the rain; or if he did hear him, he chose to ignore him. Instead, he sprinted faster than before as the cries and jeers of the bandits got closer.

Then suddenly, they were flying.

_No, not flying,_ Merlin thought,  _falling._

They were plummeting to the ground below, Arthur shut his eyes in preparation for their landing. Merlin on the other hand, was more prepared, he whispered the spell. Unfortunately, he wasn't as quick as he should have been and both of them still landed with a thud. Sharp pains traveled up Merlin's free arm and Arthur had twisted his ankle, but without the spell it could have been much worse.

Arthur, still holding Merlin's hand, yanked him up dragged him to the bottom of the rocky cliff.

“What are you looking for?” Merlin panted, he had a stitch in his left side and his lungs were on fire.

Arthur didn't answer, he dropped Merlin's hand and, careful not to put too much weight on his ankle, shoved a rock to the side, revealing a smallish hole. The hole, Merlin realised, was just big enough for two men about Arthur and Merlin's size.

“No.” Merlin said, folding his arms across his chest. 

“Do you want to die?” Arthur asked, staring at Merlin through the rain.

His eyes were bright and intense, he was out of breath and his heart was beating faster than ever, he was sure Merlin could hear it.

“No but...”

Merlin was cut off by the sounds of the bandits above them, there were calls of _“they went down there”_ and _“they must be injured”_ but more frightening than that, one said,  _“I know a shortcut.”_

That spurred Merlin on then, by now Arthur was already wiggling feet first into the hole.

“How should I get in?” Merlin asked when Arthur's head had disappeared from view.

“Just climb in on top of me.”

“What!” Merlin looked flustered, and had Arthur seen it, he would have smiled.

Sadly, Arthur was a bit distracted and instead just shouted, “For goodness sakes, hurry up!” 

Merlin shook off his embarrassment and wiggled in, he figured being face-to-face with, and on top of, Arthur in the dark, would be better than being murdered by bandits. Maybe. 

“Pull the rock over on your way in.” Arthur ordered. 

So Merlin did, ignoring the sharp pains in his arm.

“OW! Merlin!” Arthur hissed.

“Sorry!” Merlin whispered as he clambered onto Arthur.

Elbows and knees dug into Arthur's chest and stomach, but he kept as quiet as possible, only occasionally letting out a gasp.

The dark in the hole was suffocating and had Merlin been alone, he wouldn't have been able to stand it. It was horrible in the hole, it smelt like dirt and the faint smell of rain. The hole was tiny and the sharp edges of rock above him stuck into him. He readjusted himself, eliciting a small cry from Arthur.

“You're on my...” Arthur gasped.

“Oh God, sorry.”

Merlin pulled his knee away from Arthur's crotch and, in doing so, managed to whack his head on the rock above him. He collapsed forward closer to Arthur.

“Ow, ow, ow.”

“What? What did you do?” Arthur whispered, sounding panicked. 

“My head.” Merlin's hands were still holding himself up, so he couldn't reach up to see if he was bleeding.

And in another telepathic moment, Arthur freed his own hand and pressed gently on the back of Merlin's head. He couldn't feel any wetness or stickiness of blood, only Merlin's soft hair.

“You're not bleeding, you'll be fine.”

Their eyes were adjusting to the darkness now and Arthur could make out the silhouette of Merlin above him. He could feel his body on his, they fit together quite well. Merlin had his legs and arms either side of Arthur, resulting in a kind of straddling position. Arthur had one hand on the back of Merlin's head and the other on the dusty floor.

Anything could happen...

The sounds of the bandits outside, snapped Arthur back to reality.

“Where'd they go?” One bandit asked.

“Must be somewhere, probably broke some legs when they fell.”

“What should we do?” Merlin whispered, staring at the rock hiding them from view.

_What should we do?_ It was a good question. One Arthur had been fighting with for quite some time. What should he do with Merlin? Without overthinking it – without thinking about it at all really – Arthur pulled Merlin's head down to his. He lifted his own head up until their lips met.

Merlin froze for a second, not believing this was actually happening. Until his mind kicked in and shouted that it was happening. He was kissing Arthur Pendragon. 

So his lips moved then, they moved with Arthur's like it was the most natural thing in the world. One of Arthur's hands entwined in Merlin's hair and the other rested on his lower back. Merlin's hands ceased holding him up and he collapsed properly into Arthur now. The sounds of the bandits outside fell away, the only sound now was the sound of rain on the cliff and Merlin and Arthur's sighs.

They couldn't tell how long they stayed there, making out like teenagers, but eventually the rain stopped and they were forced to break apart when they heard...

“ARTHUR? MERLIN? Where the hell are they!” Lancelot shouted.

“You don't think...” Elyan trailed off.

"No! They're fine." Percival said, but he didn't sound confident. 

Arthur guessed all the knights had come looking, when they hadn't returned.

Out of breath, from the lack of air in their hiding place and their activities, they decided to put the knights out of their misery. Arthur would have much preferred to stay here and continue, but Merlin was already pushing the rock out of the way.

“We're in here.” He panted.

Gwaine ran over and helped drag Merlin out, Percival did the same for Arthur.

Lancelot looked from Arthur's red lips to Merlin's messed up hair, before asking, “What were you doing?”

“Hiding from bandits.” Arthur said in a matter-of-fact voice.

“Is that what we're calling it now?” Gwaine smirked.

Merlin readjusted his tunic and tried to force his blush back down. He eventually gave up, when Arthur interlocked his fingers with his for the walk back to Camelot.

 

 

Later on that day, Merlin came to Arthur's chambers to serve dinner. Or that's what he called it, but when he appeared there was a distinct lack of food in his hands.

They ended up on the spacious bed, but they only needed a small section. In the same position they'd been in in the cave, they continued acting like love-struck teenagers. It was warmer here than it had been out there and the room was bathed in an orange glow from the fireplace. But none of that mattered, with all the attention they were paying, the castle could have collapsed, and they wouldn't have pulled away from each other.

They were briefly interrupted by a knock on the door, but they merely responded with a joint chorus of “GO AWAY!” before returning to each other's lips.

 


End file.
